Three young men challenge death, they are selfish and cruel. They cheat and commit treason, they kill and are killed. These are the main characters of Chaucer’s The Pardoner’s Tale.
Now it’s your turn to find more information about it.
Three young men challenge death, they are selfish and cruel. They cheat and commit treason, they kill and are killed. These are the main characters of Chaucer’s The Pardoner’s Tale.
Now it’s your turn to find more information about it.
The tale is based on a folk-tale of Oriental origin, although many variations exist. Three drunken and debauched men set out from a pub to find and kill Death, whom they blame for the death of their friend, and all other people that previously have died. An old man they brusquely query tells them they can find death at the foot of a tree. When the men arrive at the tree, they find a large amount of gold coins and forget about their quest to kill Death. They decide that they cannot just take the coins in broad daylight, but rather wait until night and steal the money then. The three men draw straws to see who among them should fetch wine and food while the other two wait under the tree. The youngest of the three men drew the shortest straw. The two men who stay behind secretly plot to kill the other one when he returns, while the one who leaves for the town poisons some of the wine with rat poison. When he returns with the food and drink, the other two kill him and drink the poisoned wine — also dying (and finding Death, as per the old man’s directions) as a result.
The Pardoner describes a group of young Flemish people who spend their time drinking and reveling, indulging in all forms of excess. After commenting on their lifestyle of debauchery, the Pardoner enters into a tirade against the vices that they practice. First and foremost is gluttony, which he identifies as the sin that first caused the fall of mankind in Eden. Next, he attacks drunkenness, which makes a man seem mad and witless. Next is gambling, the temptation that ruins men of power and wealth. Finally, he denounces swearing. He argues that it so offends God that he forbade swearing in the Second Commandment—placing it higher up on the list than homicide. After almost two hundred lines of sermonizing, the Pardoner finally returns to his story of the lecherous Flemish youngsters.
As three of these rioters sit drinking, they hear a funeral knell. One of the revelers’ servants tells the group that an old friend of theirs was slain that very night by a mysterious figure named Death. The rioters are outraged and, in their drunkenness, decide to find and kill Death to avenge their friend. Traveling down the road, they meet an old man who appears sorrowful. He says his sorrow stems from old age—he has been waiting for Death to come and take him for some time, and he has wandered all over the world. The youths, hearing the name of Death, demand to know where they can find him. The old man directs them into a grove, where he says he just left Death under an oak tree. The rioters rush to the tree, underneath which they find not Death but eight bushels of gold coins with no owner in sight.
At first, they are speechless, but, then, the slyest of the three reminds them that if they carry the gold into town in daylight, they will be taken for thieves. They must transport the gold under cover of night, and so someone must run into town to fetch bread and wine in the meantime. They draw lots, and the youngest of the three loses and runs off toward town. As soon as he is gone, the sly plotter turns to his friend and divulges his plan: when their friend returns from town, they will kill him and therefore receive greater shares of the wealth. The second rioter agrees, and they prepare their trap. Back in town, the youngest vagrant is having similar thoughts. He could easily be the richest man in town, he realizes, if he could have all the gold to himself. He goes to the apothecary and buys the strongest poison available, then puts the poison into two bottles of wine, leaving a third bottle pure for himself. He returns to the tree, but the other two rioters leap out and kill him.
They sit down to drink their friend’s wine and celebrate, but each happens to pick up a poisoned bottle. Within minutes, they lie dead next to their friend. Thus, concludes the Pardoner, all must beware the sin of avarice, which can only bring treachery and death. He realizes that he has forgotten something: he has relics and pardons in his bag. According to his custom, he tells the pilgrims the value of his relics and asks for contributions—even though he has just told them the relics are fake. He offers the Host the first chance to come forth and kiss the relics, since the Host is clearly the most enveloped in sin (942). The Host is outraged and proposes to make a relic out of the Pardoner’s genitals, but the Knight calms everybody down. The Host and Pardoner kiss and make up, and all have a good laugh as they continue on their way.
this is the vocabulary.
cheated: enganyat.
stabbed: apunyalat.
wrapped: embolicat.
hardly: a penes.
greeted: saludat.
crooked: doblegat.
oak: roure.
coins: monedes.
drews lots: dibuixava lots.
wrestle: lluiti.
the devil: el diable.
Hi class I leave here pretty good summary in english, of the story of Pardoner’s Tale, and one spanish brieff summary of the tale.
Summary Pardoner’s Tale:
There once lived in Flanders a company of three rioters who did nothing but engage in irresponsible and sinful behavior. At this point, the narrator interrupts the tale itself to launch a lengthy diatribe against drunkenness – mentioning Herod, Seneca, Adam, Sampson, Attila the Hun and St. Paul as either sources or famed drunkards. This in turn oddly becomes a diatribe against people whose stomachs are their gods (their end, we are told, is death), and then a diatribe against the stomach, called, at one point a “stynkyng cod, fulfilled of dong and of corrupcioun” (a stinking bag, full of dung and decayed matter). This distraction from the story itself ends with an attack on dice-playing (dice here called “bicched bones”, or cursed dice).
The three drunkards were in a tavern one night, and, hearing a bell ring, looked outside to see men carrying a corpse to its grave. One of them called to his slave to go and ask who the corpse was: he was told by a boy that the corpse was an old fellow whose heart was smashed in two by a secret thief called Death. This drunkard agreed, and discussed with his companions how this “Death” had indeed slain many people, of all ranks, of both sexes, that very year. The three then made a vow (by “Goddes digne bones”) to find Death and slay him.
When they had gone not even half a mile, they met an old, poor man at a style, who greeted them courteously. The proudest of the drunkards responded rudely, asking the man why he was still alive at such a ripe age. The old man answered that he was alive, because he could not find anyone who would exchange their youth for his age – and, although he knocked on the ground, begging it to let him in, he still did not die. Moreover, the old man added, it was not courteous of the drunkards to speak so rudely to an old man.
One of the other drunkards responded still more rudely that the old man was to tell them where Death was, or regret not telling them dearly. The old man, still polite, told the drunkards they could find Death up the crooked way and underneath an oak tree.
The drunkards ran until they came to the tree, and, underneath it, they found eight bushels of gold coins. The worst one of them spoke first, arguing that Fortune had given them the treasure to live their life in happiness – but realizing that they could not carry the gold home without people seeing them and thinking them thieves. Therefore, he suggested, they should draw lots, and one of them should run back to the town to fetch bread and wine, while the other two protected the treasure. Then, at night, they could agree where to take the treasure and carry it safety. This was agreed, and lots were drawn: the youngest of them was picked to go to the town.
However, as soon as he had gone to the town, the two remaining drunkards plotted amongst themselves to stab him upon his return, and then split the gold between them. While he was in the town, the youngest thought of the beauty of the gold coins, and decided to buy some poison in order to kill the other two, keeping the gold for himself. Thus, he went to an apothecary, bought some “strong and violent” poison, poured it into two of three wine bottles (the third was for him to drink from), topped them up with wine, and returned to his fellows.
Exactly as the other two had planned it, it befell. They killed him on his return, and sat down to enjoy the wine before burying his body – and, as it happened, drank the poison and died. The tale ends with a short sermon against sin, asking God to forgive the trespass of good men, and warning them against the sin of avarice, before (this, we can presume narrated in the Pardoner’s voice) inviting the congregation to “come up” and offer their wool in return for pardons.
The tale finished, the Pardoner suddenly remembers that he has forgotten one thing – that he is carrying relics and pardons in his “male” (pouch, bag) and begins to invite the pilgrims forward to receive pardon, inciting the Host to be the first to receive his pardon. “Unbokele anon thy purs”, he says to the Host, who responds that the Pardoner is trying to make him kiss “thyn old breech” (your old pants), swearing it is a relic, when actually it is just painted with his shit. I wish, the Host says, I had your “coillons” (testicles) in my hand, to shrine them in a hog’s turd.
The Pardoner is so angry with this response, he cannot speak a word, and, just in time, the Knight steps in, bringing the Pardoner and the Host together and making them again friends. This done, the company continues on its way.
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/section15/
Resumen Pardoner’s Tale:
Al parecer profundamente afectado por el cuento triste y espantoso del Médico de Virginia, el Anfitrión elogia al Médico usando tantos términos médicos como él puede reunirse. Sin embargo, él rechaza la moralidad del Médico al cuento y substituye uno de su propio: Así los regalos de fortuna y naturaleza están no siempre bien (” los regalos de Fortuna y la Naturaleza ha sido la causa de la muerte de muchas personas “). Pensando que los peregrinos necesitan un cuento alegre para seguir, el Anfitrión da vuelta al Pardoner. Los miembros más distinguidos de la empresa, temiendo que el Pardoner diga una historia vulgar, pedirán el Pardoner un cuento con una moralidad.
El Pardoner entonces explica a los peregrinos los métodos que él usa en la predicación. Su texto es siempre ” la Raíz malorum est cupidatis ” (” el Amor del dinero es la raíz de todos los males “). Siempre empleando una serie de documentos y objetos, él constantemente anuncia que él no puede hacer nada para los pecadores realmente malos e invita a la gente buena adelante a comprar sus reliquias y, así, absolverse de pecados. Entonces él está de pie en el púlpito y predica muy rápidamente sobre el pecado de avaricia para intimidar a los miembros en la donación del dinero.
Él repite aquel su tema es siempre ” el Dinero es la raíz de todos los males ” porque, con este texto, él puede denunciar el vicio mismo que él prácticas: avaricia. Y aun cuando él es culpable de los mismos pecados contra los que él predica, él todavía puede hacer otra gente arrepentirse. El Pardoner admite que le gusta el dinero, el alimento rico, y la vida fina. E incluso si él no es un hombre moral, él puede decir un cuento bueno moral, que sigue.
En Flandes, a la altura de una plaga negra, tres jóvenes van a una posada, donde comen y beben, donde también juran y los juramentos son dignos de condenación. Los parrandistas marcan la ida de un ataúd y preguntan quien ha muerto. Un criado les dice que el muerto era un amigo que fue apuñalado en la espalda la noche antes por un ladrón la Muerte llamada. Los parrandistas jóvenes, pensando que la Muerte todavía podría estar en la siguiente ciudad, deciden buscarlo y matarlo.
En el camino, los tres hombres encuentran a un anciano que explica que él debe recolectar la tierra hasta que él pueda encontrar a alguien dispuesto a cambiar la juventud por su vejez. Él dice que si no lo encuntra la Muerte tomará su vida. El oído de él habla de Muerte, los parrandistas preguntan donde ellos pueden encontrar la Muerte, y el anciano los dirige a un árbol al final de la vereda. Los parrandistas se precipitan al árbol y encuentran ocho monedas de oro, que ellos deciden guardar Ellos deciden esperar durante la noche para mover el oro y dibujar paja para ver cual entrará en la ciudad para hacerse de alimentos y el vino. El más jóven de los tres dibuja la paja más corta. Cuando él se marcha, los otros dos decide a killhim y divide su dinero. El más jóven, sin embargo, queriendo el tesoro a él, compra el veneno, que él añade a dos de las botellas de vino que él compra. Cuando el parrandista más jóven se acerca al árbol, los otros dos lo apuñalan y luego se sientan para beber el vino antes de que ellos eliminen su cuerpo. Así, todos los tres hallan la Muerte.
Hi class!
When I read this chapter I didn’t undertand some words.
I looked for the translate and I put there.
I hope that be useful for you.
Vocabulary of “The Pardoner’s tale”
gambling-jugar a cartes(etc) per diners
swearing-groller,mal parlat
churchyard-cementiri
stabbed-apunyalar
among us-entre nosaltres
wrapped-enrotllar
hardly-molt poc
greeted-saludar
fool-idiota
freedom-llibertat
thinner-més prim
sheet-capa
bones ache-mal d’ossos
treat-tractar
wicked-dolent
therefore-“per això…”
wrestle-lluitar
bury-enterrar,sepultar
See you soon!